-Staying alive in avalanche terrain is an investment in patience and time in my opinion…here’s why.
– Sometimes avalanches are isolated to small areas and other times they are widespread over large areas. These phenomena are forecastable by weather and snowpack observations. While there are historic patterns the variations that play out from year to year are endless. Thus pattern recognition is limited.-
– Interpreting an avalanche forecast and matching the avalanche problem to the terrain features they are likely to occur on is the skill to develop.-
– If appropriate terrain choices are the solution to avoiding avalanches, identifying where the avalanche problem lives in the terrain is the formula and the skill to develop. With appropriate application this allows us to identify the right terrain to be in at the right time. –
– These skills are developed through a process of first gaining the right education. Mentorship while applying that new information leads to appropriate applications. Further personal application results in experience. –
-The cost: Time…and a lot of it. –
– In summary, taking an avalanche course is a start. Finding the right partners a must. Practicing new skills with oversight and feedback an uncomfortable necessity. Then the humility to have a conservative approach to personal exploration imperative.-
– How much time? Well if it takes 10,000 hours to find mastery competency is somewhere along the way…enjoy the path to experience. There is a lot of good skiing along the way to that objective you are dreaming of.
– Meredith Edwards enjoys the journey while being in the right place at the right time…again!
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